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Noise: Health Hazards

Volume 470: debated on Wednesday 23 January 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated on the effects of low level decibel sound on public health; and if he will make a statement. (180992)

A Departmental ad hoc advisory group is currently preparing a report on the effects of environmental noise on health, due to be completed early in 2008, which will examine a number of noise and health related issues, including low intensity and low frequency noise. The results of this work will feed into the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), ‘Noise Strategy for England’.

In addition, Departmental officials work closely with DEFRA on a number of noise and health related matters and a number of research projects have been carried out by DEFRA around noise, including low frequency noise.